Terry Burke was my first true-blue cassette underground contact back in the olden days before there was such a thing as the internets... before there was such a thing as netlabels. Terry's musical output under the name Histatic Charge was limited in terms of releases, I think he only had two tapes, and then he did a couple of compilations with his tape label... but it didn't even matter, for me it was the "Aha!" moment, you could throw down some high weirdness on tape, slap a photocopied cover on that baby and start mailing them to people and as easy as that you could be DOING music. You didn't have to prove yourself to anyone. (I actually had already released two tapes by the point I'd made this discovery, but I had not thought of them as anything other than one "demo" and one art project.)

The self-titled 1989 cassette "Histatic Charge" was (I'm pretty certain) the first tape I ever heard from the cassette underground. It features Terry Burke's peculiar sensibilities on several synth-based compositions. There's a minimalist and unprofessional approach here, I love the quirkiness of the off-time rhythms and spare, somewhat melancholy synth melodies paired with the goofy sensibility. There is a wide mix of feelings this tape evokes from one song to the next.

This has been essentially unavailable for many years, so enjoy this peek into weirdness.

Instruments and Devices
Tracks 1-4
cardboad box, answering machine, shortwave radio, house keys, digital reverb, plastic cup, a couple of rocks, analog synthesizers, iron woodstove, wooden mixing spoon, rubber bands and one little sister.
Recorded at home April 15-22, 1989
Tracks 5-7 recorded live in Cincinnati, Ohio 1987
The final three tracks "Cicada Invasion", "Beeper" and "Ham People Theme" were listed as bonus tracks on my copy of this tape, and so they are included here.

"This tape was made in reaction to the boring pap that is smeared inside our eardrums day in and day out. Go out and make your own music, D.I.Y.!!!!!"